[Magdalen] Florida school shootings

[Jay Weigel]

Actually, surveys show that about 3% of Americans have about 90% of the
guns, so I don't quite understand the paranoia about sensible firearms
regulation. Maybe it's just that they are the loudest screamers.

I am greatly encouraged by this bunch of young people who survived the
latest massacre. They are educated, tough, and media-savvy. And other young
people in this generation are the same. I include my grandchildren in this.
They might be the ones to break the political stranglehold the NRA and
Trump's detestable "base" currently have on the country. Four of my
grandchildren will be old enough to vote in November. I know which way
they'll vote. They're only four of millions.

On Thu, Feb 22, 2018 at 8:54 AM, Scott Knitter <scottknitter at gmail.com>
wrote:

> I agree. There's a sort of national insanity about guns, going far beyond
> getting one for hunting or even personal protection in situations that are
> actually dangerous to life and limb. For many, being able to have a gun is
> an integral part of being an American, and the Second Amendment to our
> Constitution is regarded with far more reverence than it could ever have
> been intended to receive.
>
> And there are a great many of us who are appalled at what this national
> obsession has turned into. Yes, it's the people who use the guns as tools
> of murder, but it's also the very easy availability of the guns in the
> first place. I recently saw a video of a young man going into a gun store
> and being able to get an assault rifle in five minutes.
>
> Why can't we do a mandatory buyback like Australia did, or achieve low
> shooting rates like Canada or any number of other countries? For many, the
> answer is this is America, and we've got this blessed, holy thing called
> the Second Amendment, so being able to get a gun is an almost God-given
> right.
>
> I hasten to add that we're not all walking around brandishing firearms.
> Maybe soon we will if the dystopia takes over fully. But the results of the
> proliferation of guns are far too clear when they do appear, as we've
> recently seen again and again. At the very least, gun sales need to be far
> more regulated and monitored, with strict licensing and background checks,
> not to mention bans on assault weapons. We do need to join the world on
> this.
>
> On Thu, Feb 22, 2018 at 7:27 AM, Michael Bishop <rev at michaelbishop.name>
> wrote:
>
> > I heard with horror of the latest school shooting. That is awful - and
> > prayers go out to all those who this has touched.
> >
> > What I find more horrifying is the reaction of President Trump when he
> > said at a meeting with people affected by such shootings that teachers
> > should be trained to have and be able to use concealed guns in school.
> >
> > Of course as I am British, I fail to understand the US government and NRA
> > insistence on the right to bear arms. I have never handled a firearm of
> any
> > sort and have never had a desire to do so. Yes, I have countersigned
> > applications from my former parishioners to be licensed to hold firearms
> -
> > almost entirely in connection with their farming activities.
> (Incidentally,
> > I am mystified that British law allows me as a minister of religion to
> > countersign applications for a firearms certificate, but does not allow
> me
> > to countersign a passport application  because I have n o passport and
> the
> > countersignatory for a passport has to give her/her passport number.
> >
> > I hope and pray that somehow the US finds a way of controlling possession
> > of firearms more sensibly.
> >
> > --
> > God bless
> >
> > .....
> > .....
> > Michael Bishop
> > rev at michaelbishop.name
> >
> >
>
>
> --
> Scott R. Knitter
> Edgewater, Chicago, Illinois USA
>